The Intelligent Conversationalist
Page 16
Main language: Arabic.
Main religion: Sunni Islam.
Capital: Doha.
CIA compares it in terms of size to: slightly smaller than Connecticut.
Political system: Absolute monarchy heading into the realms of constitutional. Slightly.
SAUDI ARABIA
Birthplace of Islam. Mecca and Medina, the religion’s two holiest shrines, are based there. The king’s official title is actually the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
After a campaign lasting several decades to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula, the modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud; in 1938 the country struck oil. Oh, did it strike oil—today the country is one of the world’s main producers of oil and gas. One of Ibn Saud’s male descendants still rules. After some protests during the Arab Spring, the government announced a number of benefits to Saudi citizens. It has the money for such large-scale “bribery.” The largest country in the world without a river (and quite possibly a movie theater—seriously, no cinemas in the kingdom), Saudi Arabia is also the only nation with both a Persian Gulf and a coast on the Red Sea. If I start going off on their treatment of women I won’t stop, so in the interest of brevity I’ll move on.
Main language: Arabic.
Main religion: Sunni Islam.
CIA compares it in terms of size to: slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US.
Political system: Absolute monarchy bending a little toward limited political involvement in government for those outside the ruling royal family.
SYRIA
Several ancient empires and kingdoms were based in parts of what we now know as Syria, and its capital, Damascus, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Post–World War I, it was the French who got the mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman empire province of Syria; hence it has been so noisy in recent years about what is to become of the nation. Syria was granted independence in 1946. Instability followed. In 1958 Syria joined with Egypt to become the United Arab Republic, but the two separated in 1961, with Syria reestablishing itself as the Syrian Arab Republic. In 1967 Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel in the Arab-Israeli war. Fast-forward to 1970. Hafez al-Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect and the socialist Ba’ath Party, orchestrated a bloodless coup. Stability followed. His son, Bashar al-Assad, who was actually supposed to be an eye surgeon until his brother died, became president in 2000 when his father passed away. Allied with Iran, Hezbollah, and the Russians, who have their one and only Mediterranean naval base in the country. The Arab Spring made its presence felt in Syria and the country fell into civil war, allowing ISIS to establish a significant presence. Odd fact? I was at school with Bashar’s wife. We weren’t brought up to marry dictators and not answer back. She’s a Lifetime movie waiting to happen.
Main language: Arabic.
Main religion: Sunnis make up the majority, but Syria is diverse. The Alawites, which the Assads follow, have their historical heartlands in Syria. Alawites follow the Shiite version of Islam but with some variations.
Capital: Damascus.
CIA compares it in terms of size to: slightly larger than North Dakota.
Political system: fallen apart.
JORDAN
Post–World War I, the Brits demarcated a semiautonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine. The country gained its independence in 1946, when the area was subsequently called the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Note its strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that has the longest border with Israel (they share control of the Dead Sea) and the occupied West Bank. In 1967 Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel; in 1988 King Hussein permanently relinquished its claims to it.
Main language: Arabic (official).
Main religion: Sunni Islam.
Capital: Amman, not to be confused with Oman, which is a country.
CIA compares it in terms of size to: slightly smaller than Indiana.
Political System: A constitutional monarchy, although the king exercises considerable power, which has proven especially controversial since the Arab Spring. Suffrage is universal over the age of eighteen, but well, the king has a lot of power.
YEMEN
Yemen is situated at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, a strategically important position in regards to trade and communication routes since ancient times. In the nineteenth century the Brits basically seized “control” of what became South Yemen; in 1918, North Yemen became independent from the Ottoman empire. In 1967 the Brits withdrew—and it took until 1990, and much instability, for North and South to officially unite. Civil war occurred in 1994, and in 2008 the southern secessionist movement strengthened once more. Whenever discussing Yemen, keep in mind that it borders Saudi Arabia and that this is a constant factor in all foreign policy.
The Arab Spring brought the downfall of President Ali Abdullah Saleh (later to openly ally with Houthis) and the rise of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (Sunni) in 2011–2012. However, deep divisions remained in the economically challenged country, with the Hadi-led government in dispute with Islamist militants and Houthi rebels. Note the Houthi are Shia and allied to Iran; the Sunni Saudi Arabia fears a Houthi takeover, as they want free passage through the southern entrance of the Red Sea …
Main language: Arabic.
Main religion: estimated 65 percent Sunni, 35 percent Shia.
Capital: Sana’a, but in February 2015 it came under rebel control, so was provisionally relocated to Aden on the southern coast.
CIA compares it in terms of size to: almost four times the size of Alabama; slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming.
Political System: uncertain after a coup d’état in 2014–2015. The Houthis were all about dissolving parliament and installing a council, while deposed President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi was declaring he was still in office.
PALESTINE AND ISRAEL
It is apparent in debates about Palestine and Israel that I eavesdrop on (I’ve learned, especially in America, that biting my tongue is the safest path—Europeans often have a somewhat different perspective on the region than Yanks) that what is often lacking is a basic grasp of historical events in the area. Make sure you are cognizant of these facts before entering into an argument.
Palestine is the birthplace of both Judaism and Christianity and sits between Arabia, Syria, and Egypt. It is at a key crossroads geographically, politically, and emotionally.
Before 1948, Palestine referred to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. Throughout history, the region fell under the control of many empires, including the Egyptian, Assyrian, Roman, and Byzantine, and thus experienced associated boundary changes. From the early sixteenth century through 1917, Palestine was part of the Ottoman empire.
As noted earlier, during World War I, there was the Balfour Declaration. In 1917 the British government acknowledged that they were in favor of establishing a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. Post–World War I, the Brits got the mandate for Palestine, which lasted through World War II.
Palestine’s eastern half became the emirate of Transjordan; the western half was administered directly by the Brits.
This arrangement ended post–World War II. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, in 1947 the United Nations proposed a plan to partition Palestine, dividing it into an Arab state and a Jewish one, with the Jerusalem-Bethlehem area administered by the United Nations. Note that the West Bank was part of the territory that the UN proposed be Arab.
The Partition Plan was accepted by Jewish, but not by Arab, leaders. This resulted in the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948, which the Arabs labeled “the catastrophe.” Now take a look at this timeline of key events.
1949: The outcome of the war was that Egypt got the Gaza Strip and Transjordan the West Bank and East Jerusalem, while Israel got some land that under the Partition Plan had been designated Arab.
1967: The Six-Day War ended in a decisive loss for the Muslim
side. Israel won power over:
• The Golan Heights from Syria.
• The West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan.
• The Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt.
1972: Palestinian terrorists murdered eleven Israeli athletes, coaches, and judges at the Munich Olympics, aiming to force the release of two hundred Arabs in Israeli prisons.
1973: The Yom Kippur War. Israel fights Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. As we noted in Cheat Sheet 16, thanks to the cold war, the US (pro-Israel) and USSR (pro-Arab) got involved. The Arab side had early success in the conflict, which helped them psychologically after 1967. Israel fought back but there was a realization they might not always win. Paved the way for negotiations.
1974: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed.
1978: Camp David Accords: Jimmy Carter’s high point. The Egyptians and Israelis negotiated and signed agreements at Camp David that set out a framework for peace between them. This led to Israel signing a 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, the first between Israel and any of its Arab neighbors. There is no longer a prospect of a united Arab military front.
1988: Jordan cedes its claim to the West Bank.
1993: Oslo Accords—the PLO, led by Yasser Arafat, and Israeli officials, led by Yitzhak Rabin, agreed on a framework for peace. Arafat in the process recognized Israel’s right to exist. This was Bill Clinton’s “handshake” moment—when he got the two to shake hands. The Palestinian Authority was established to govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Rabin was later assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli Zionist terrorist who was against the peace initiative. That’s right, an Israeli Zionist terrorist.
1994: Israel-Jordan peace treaty, formally ending the state of war between them.
1994–1999: A series of agreements in which Israel transfers security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip.
1990s: Fall of communism—significant number of Russian Jews emigrate to Israel, thus bolstering ties with a leading oil supplier and power broker.
Mid-2000: Negotiations to sort out the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stall after an intifada (Arab uprising—in this case Palestinians against Israeli occupation) outbreak. Known as the Second Intifada—the first was from 1987 to, many would argue, the Oslo Accords).
2003: The UN, Russia, the EU, and the US present a road map for a peace settlement by 2005, for two states: a democratic Palestine and Israel.
2004: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat dies; Mahmoud Abbas elected. Both were members of Fatah, a Palestinian political party and the largest faction in the PLO. Israel and the PA agree to move forward with peace process.
2005: Israel dismantles its military facilities and withdraws all its soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip. Some of its military is redeployed from the West Bank, but Israel still controls maritime and airspace access, etc. Still settlement activity (Jewish civilian communities on lands occupied by Israel in 1967) in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
2006: Hamas (an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Palestinian Sunni Islamist movement with a military wing—there’s a debate about how linked they are) wins the elections and control of the PA government. Cue internal factions fighting within the PA between Hamas and Fatah. Note that Hamas is basically a terrorist organization that nobody likes, including Arab governments in the Middle East.
2007: For the first time the “two-state solution” is established as foundation for future negotiations between Israel and the PA at the Annapolis Conference.
2008: Israel invades Gaza to stop Hamas and others from launching rockets.
2010: Direct discussions between Israel and the PA, but they fail to go anywhere, unable to resolve the issue of settlements.
2012: After months of increasing rocket attacks, Israel starts a week-long military campaign against Gaza-based armed groups.
2013: More talks.
2014: Three Jewish teenagers are kidnapped and murdered in the West Bank; Israel arrests multiple Hamas members. Militants increase rocket fire from Gaza; Israel launches military campaign. Egypt brokers a cease-fire.
2015: To everybody’s surprise, quite possibly most of all his own, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reelected in Israel. During his campaign, he declared that if in power he would never establish a Palestinian state. Bibi’s subsequently tried to walk that one back.
As of time of writing, there is no state of Palestine, only two territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Legally they remain occupied by Israel, regardless of agreements made between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities. Both populations are predominantly Palestinian Arab and Sunni Muslim. Half a million Israelis live across the “green line,” the 1967 border.
Israel is the world’s only Jewish state: More than 75 percent of its population is Jewish; the majority of the remainder are mostly Arab. A democracy, with universal suffrage at eighteen, it uses the system of proportional representation, so extremes do get a voice. Its capital is controversially Jerusalem; its financial center—and the location of the US embassy—is Tel Aviv. Israel, Republican invitations to Bibi Netanyahu to speak in Congress and bypassing the White House in 2015 notwithstanding, is a bipartisan issue in America. There is unilateral support for the country and Israel needs its closest friend, not just because of its isolated position in the Middle East. Anti-Semitism has existed in one form or another for a thousand years in Europe. There has recently been a rise once again in anti-Semitism in the region, although it should be noted that multiple European leaders and those in the media have spoken out against it, and millions in Europe are horrified by it.
The million-dollar question? Is a two-state solution possible? There is a very real fear that a fundamentalist Palestine rather than a nation with a secular government could take hold. Should a true mixed state be the aim?
God promised Abraham a son, but his wife was very old, so he had a son with a servant, named Ishmael. Then his wife had a son, Isaac. Muslims trace their lineage to Ishmael, the Jews to Isaac. Christians worship the same God as the Jews, but the Jews do not believe that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. Oh, but what might have been, Abraham.
* * *
WISE WORDS
History, in general, only informs us what bad government is.
—Thomas Jefferson
* * *
SOCIAL SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Argument: “The post–World War I boundaries made no sense on religious or ethnic grounds.”
This is a safe point to make and means you can blame the British, who will willingly admit fault.
Crisp Fact: Feeling brave? “Abraham should have kept it in his pants: God promised Abraham a son, but his wife was very old, so he had a son with a servant, Ishmael. Then his wife had a son, Isaac. Muslims trace their lineage to Ishmael, the Jews to Isaac. Oh, but what might have been, Abraham.”
Employ this one only if you’re utterly sure that nobody within hearing will be offended by it; the right company will find it fascinating.
Pivot: “Qatar won the bid to be the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Are you a soccer [football if you’re speaking to anyone who isn’t North American] fan?”
Most people can muster an opinion on soccer, even if it’s “I don’t get it.” It should swing the chat onto safer territory.
SUBJECT FIVE—POLITICS
POLITICS SUMMARY
The key theme to keep in mind when discussing anything related to this subject is that, as the former British Labour Party Prime Minister Harold Wilson said, “A week is a long time in politics.” If you sprinkle the phrase around, you will find people will nod sagely before offering their own anecdote or changing the conversation for you. Think about dropping into the mix that the word filibuster comes from a Dutch word meaning pirate—everyone has something to contribute about pirates, even if it’s just how Johnny Depp looks in eye makeup. And if you really can’t stand one m
ore second of election chat, just mutter, “Wake me up on November [insert the day after the presidential/midterm election]” and switch the dialogue to anything else. Anyone worth talking to will be relieved.
America is exceptional. In most democracies, people stand for election. In the US they keep running, unless they are a second-term president, in which case they are labeled a lame duck and might as well be Peter Pan’s crocodile the way their clock is ticking out their presidency so loud. The foundation of America is also so intrinsically linked to democracy (if you take Britain, we evolved—you Americans arrived) that an understanding of the political system is essential to understanding the fabric of American life. It is well-nigh impossible to have a conversation of significant length with anyone semi-intelligent in America without someone making semi-intelligent remarks about unintelligent politicians and politics. The next few Cheat Sheets will provide you with some smart observations. Well, at least as clever as anything that appears on cable news, as I’ve used most of them. Which actually may not be a selling point.